Question

       The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

       “So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name ? ”

       “Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.

       “Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”

       “Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

       “Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in . In those days, the area looked quite different ---- it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

       “  ‘You are clearing too much land, ’ warned one old man. ‘ The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. ’

       “ ‘ Silly fool,’ said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’”

       “Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

       “What happened ? ” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

       “The land hit back ---- just as the old man warned, ” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

       “What a stupid story, ” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted(晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

56.  The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

       A. courage                B. assistance                   C. instruction                    D. challenge

57.  Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story ?

       A. To frighten them.

       B. To satisfy their curiosity.

       C. To warn them of the danger of the place.

       D. To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

58.  Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man ?

       A. The old man envied him.                              B. The old man was foolish

       C. He was too busy to listen to others.                   D. He was greedy for more crops.

59.  Why did Tom scream and faint ?

       A. He saw Dennis’s shadow                             B. He was scared by a plant

       C. His friends played a joke on him.                D. The weather became extremely cold.

60.        What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis ?

       A. Grasp all, lose all.                                          B. No sweat, no sweet.

       C. It is no use crying over spilt milk.                 D. He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

Answer 1

【语篇解读】本文是一篇记叙文，题材是人物故事类。本文通过三个朋友在沼泽地野营时Tom讲述的故事，告知我们贪多必失的道理。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1-5）	the campfire；the darkness；damp cold；a strange place; How did this place get its name;	故事背景：在沼泽地野营时的环境描述，三个朋友对沼泽地得名的好奇、从而引出故事的讲述。
第二部分（Para.6-11）	Dennis tried to start a farm; grow more crops; chop down trees, so eager to expand his farm; did not notice salt seeping; dragged；never found	故事讲述：Dennis为了种植庄稼,不顾一切地开垦了大片荒地，Dennis为自己的成功感到自豪时，被沼泽地的植物拽入水中，从而销声匿迹，落了个一无所得，死无全尸。
第三部分（Para.12）	What a stupid story; screamed and fainted; appreciate the joke;	结尾： 在谈论故事时，Tom被沼泽常春藤吓到了。

【解析】

56. D。猜测词义题。难度：中等。根据第一段中的The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place.可知来自于篝火的光照亮了黑暗却不能阻止深入骨髓的Dennis沼泽地的湿气可见这是一个奇怪的地方。三人来此野营是Jack的一个挑战。A. courage  勇气、胆量；B. assistance帮助、协助；C. instruction指示、说明；D. challenge挑战

解题思路：从本段中的环境描述和三人对野营的喜爱可以得知接受jack的应该是一个挑战。

干扰项排除：考生易选A项，考生易于从此的本意入手，不能结合语境判断词汇的含义。

57. B。推理判断题。难度：中等。根据段落中的几个朋友的不断发问和词汇“cried out Tom”的使用，可知孩子们对于Dennis沼泽地的得名充满好奇。

干扰项排除：考生要结合上下文找准题目的切入点。本题从题干分析可知，要求找出故事讲述的背景。D项明显与题目相悖，选项是说服他们去沼泽地野营应该是在野营前的事而故事的讲述是在野营时的讲述，明显有时间差；A、C两项，偏离了故事讲述得背景。故事的讲述是对Dennis沼泽地得名的阐明。有的同学在选题中不能很好的理解题意和题干、不结合语境。

58.D。细节题。难度：较易。根据题干定位到到7、8段。从“‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier.”如果我能清理更多的地，我就能种更多的庄稼我能变得更富有。可知Dennis对种植更多庄稼的贪婪和渴望。这也就是他忽略老人的警告的原因。

59. C。推理判断题。难度：中等。根据题干关键词scream and faint 定位倒数第一段。文中 “Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face.”有一些绿色的常春藤盖在Tom脸的上。可知Tom答案。

60. A。推理判断题。难度：较难。从文中的故事讲述可知，Dennis不顾一切地垦荒和对种植更多庄稼的贪婪之心，局却是被水中植物拽入水中，一无所得，死不见尸。

解题思路：故事的结尾一般是作者的感想或得出的启示教训，。

干扰项排除：A贪多必失；B不劳无获；C覆水难收；D向不犯错误就一事无成。